Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to recognize some extraordinary individuals from my great riding of Red Deer.
On February 15, I will have the pleasure to celebrate the 100th birthday of Bill Wagstaff from Elnora. He has always been active and involved in our community and a great supporter of young people. Along with his family and friends, I look forward to celebrating his remarkable life.
Bill will be cheering alongside other central Albertans as we celebrate our local athletes at the XXII Olympic Winter Games. Zina Kocher will once again be competing in biathlon for Canada. We are also cheering for speed skater Danielle Wotherspoon-Gregg; Matthew Rowley, also from Red Deer; and Atsuko Tanaka, from Calgary. Both train in Red Deer as ski jumpers. We will once again be cheering for Lyndon Rush, who is back on the bobsled for Canada after winning a medal in Vancouver, along with Mellisa Hollingsworth, who is competing in her third Olympics in skeleton.
Central Albertans are proud of these athletes, and we wish all of them the best of luck in Sochi.